Cardiac morphofunctional injuries in patients with hepatitis C virus: doppler echocardiographic evaluation

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the possible morphological and functional heart injuries in hepatitis C virus patients. METHODS: Control-case study analyzing Doppler echocardiographic aspects in 31 hepatitis C virus patients and 20 controls. RESULTS: There were no significant difference in relation to the myocardial thickening, left ventricular diameters, circumferential shortening, ejection fraction, mitral valve flow velocities, tissue sistolic and diastolic mitral annular ones. CONCLUSION: Individuals with hepatitis C virus in the initial phases of the disease did not show morpho-functional abnormalities of the heart when evaluated by doppler echocardiography.